For You
by madamxcrystalxrose
Summary: It was the end of the line for five unlucky shinobi, however, their unpredictable Hokage had another idea. He loved his friends too much to let them waste away in a world that was slowly dying. KakashixOC along with various pairings. This is my version of a time travel fanfic.
1. Prologue

Konoha was no more. There was nothing more than burning buildings and dead silence. There were cries of pain and painful sobs, but those quickly faded away.

It was strange, the village had always been so lively and after the Fourth Great Shinobi War, it seemed like peace was finally achieved. The illusion was destroyed when Suna was destroyed, killing everyone along with Gaara's newborn and his beloved wife. Then Amegakure disappeared off the map soon after, swiftly followed by Kirigakure. It was a shame since the Mizukage had finally found a husband and Ame had found a new leader since the death of their god and angel. Iwagakure and Kumogakure had stayed for some time, but they also met their end.

As for Konoha, she had tried helping, but it was futile and in the end, all of her allies were gone. She was the last of the great villages to fall, and when she did, she fell slowly and painfully. Like all the other nations, it was in a period of the baby boom. Couples got married and children were popping out faster than the Yellow Flash's Hiraishin.

_Perhaps, that was what made it so tragic, _a blond man thought as he laid on one of his best friends' lap, covered in blood and barely breathing. They were on the Hokage Monument, on his own head to be exact. Though, there wasn't much of a choice, the previous ones were all destroyed with explosions. A pair of sky blue eyes looked up and felt the sorrow that radiated from his friend. Her brown hair was soaked in blood and her body was covered in cuts and bruises. He could tell that she probably had a few broken ribs by the way she cradled herself. He blinked as tears from her green orbs rolled down his cheeks. She didn't deserve what happened. No one deserved such a cruel act.

She had lost her fiancé during their wedding ceremony. He was about to drink from the sake cups when he jumped in front of her, blocking an assassination attempt on her. She had looked so beautiful in her wedding kimono, but it soon turned horrifying when his blood was splattered all over it, leaving her shocked and in denial of his quickly approaching death. _Manami-chan..._

A weak cough made him look over at the source and he found his lazy and genius friend on his right. He seemed to be fighting to stay awake and for now, he was winning. The genius had become one of the blonde's most trusted friend and best advisor. He had also been one of the happiest husband too. A glance at his left hand showed that the man still wore his wedding ring even though his beloved had passed on, along with a child he would never know. _Shika..._

A quiet sob escaped from the lips of the second woman from the Konoha 13 who survived. The last Hokage looked over at the last, but best, clan head of the Hyuuga. She had led the Hyuuga into a prosperous time and had gotten rid of the Caged Bird Seal in memory of Neji's sacrifice. She had saved his life during Pein's Invasion and when Pein had almost killed her, he snapped. She was one of the few who had always believed in him ever since their Academy days and he had always treasured those who had believed in him for a long time. Like them, she was bleeding from cuts and was carefully supporting her ribcage along with a large gash across her chest which was bleeding despite the bandages. _Hinata-chan..._

The last person at his side was right next to the Hyuuga head. A small smile formed on his lips as he looked at his closest friend whom he considered a brother. He was hurt just like the others, but he was trying to hide his injuries. It had taken a lot of trouble for him to bring the teme back and pardoned with all the actions he did, but in the end, he was put on probation for three years and was stuck with D-ranks and a few C-ranks for missions during that time. Once he was off, he was one of the best shinobi any kage could've wanted. _Sasuke-teme..._

"I'm not going to make it, am I?" the blonde asked with a weak smile.

No one answered him, but Manami's and Hinata's sobs were louder. He was touched how much his friends cared for him and it only strengthenedhis resolve for what he was about to do. He had discussed it with Kurama and both decided it was the best decision. He had found it hidden away and unfinished in a secret compartment in the Hokage desk. His fingers weren't responding to him so he had to go into his mindscape.

He opened his blue eyes within his mind and smiled at his tenant. The bars had disappeared ever since the war. The nine-tailed fox looked at him with a soft glare.

"So I guess this is the last time huh, Kurama?"

The fox scoffed, "With this jutsu, no. We will just forget since none of this will have happened."

The blond Hokage rubbed the back of his head and smiled cheekily, "Yeah, and with those four, I'm hoping that none of this will ever happen again," he finished as his smile became softer as he thought of them. The smile disappeared when he spoke again. "However, I'm kind of worried about how they'll react when they all meet those who have died...Especially Manami-chan and Shika."

"Hmm, that's true, kit, but they'll probably try to cope with everything." A chuckle broke out from the "kit" as he walked forward to his tenant and came face to face as he jumped up onto the fox demon's snout.

"Thanks Kurama." The fox rose an eyebrow, wondering where the blonde was going, "Thanks for helping me get this far. I'm glad I got to know you, -ttebayo!" The fox was shocked but chuckled at his strange host.

"I could say the same thing, kit. You know, out of all the hosts I've had, I had the best time with you."

"Hahaha, thanks Kurama, I'm honored."

"Hmph, you should be," the fox retorted back with a smirk. They were savoring the lasts moments before they forgot everything. A few seconds of silence passed by before the strongest biju sighed and synchronized with his host.

"Until Wave, Kurama," the man said with a sad smile before starting to sign.

On the outside world, the four last Konoha shinobi were starting to panic. Their friend and Hokage had closed his eyes and his breaths were becoming shallower and slower.

"Naruto?" Manami whispered out, desperately hoping that each breath wasn't his last. She was answered with a large chakra amount emitting from her precious friend. Instantly, Naruto glowed brightly and slowly got up as those surrounding him also tried copying him, despite the protests from their bodies. Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage looked at his best friends for the last time and smiled wistfully.

"I'm sorry guys, but this is the last thing I can do for you."

"What are you talking about, dobe?" Sasuke interrupted as he watched his best friend in synchronization. He didn't want to lose anything anymore and Naruto was both his best friend and his Hokage.

Naruto felt the panic radiating from his loyal friends and subordinates and tried to calm them down. "Don't worry guys, with this jutsu, everything can be fixed."

He fixed them a level gaze, "This is your last order from me," he held his hand up, stopping any protests, "As the Rokudaime Hokage, I order, Sarutobi Manami, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke, to make sure that Konoha-no-the entire shinobi nations survive! Fix what we couldn't...And lastly," he looked at all of them with a soft gaze, "I want you all to find happiness again...Thanks for everything guys, I'm sorry I couldn't save everyone, please forgive me..."

Before any of his friends could even speak, he finished sealing and used all of the chakra he had left over. However, what he wasn't expecting, was for all four to shunshin and grab him, dragging him along into the past with them.

"You're really a moron if you think that I'm going to leave you behind, dobe!"

"This is troublesome, but if I want to save everyone, I gotta bring you along."

"I can't leave a precious friend behind and smile happily knowing that I left you to die!"

"We're friends, and no matter what happens, we're in this together!"

As five shinobi disappeared into a swirling vortex, the last of Konoha fell to the ground. The once proud Monument displaying the faces of Konoha's Hokages had fallen. The future that was never supposed to exist now had a chance of a bright and happy future.

Hello there!

This is my second story on here (can you feel my anxiety at posting this?). I know it's kinda stupid to start another story when I haven't even finished my first story but I really wanted to get this out of my system. I know I said that I didn't want to write a Kakashi love story because I felt that he was OOC (Out Of Character), but I wanted to challenge myself after being inspired.

This fic is less lighter and happier than my first fic, Thank You! It's slightly more serious/darker but I don't want this to be full of angst and tears so there will be some nice, light, cheesy, fluffy moments too!

Anyways, thanks for reading this, hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave any comments (as long as they're not flames) on what you think!

See ya!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! If I did, I'd be rich and swimming in ramen because why not?

* * *

Consecutive groans were heard from a small clearing near Konoha as the shinobi slowly came to. Sasuke was the first to come to and he swore silently as he noticed how the five were still injured and he could feel Naruto slipping away into death. He was low on chakra from that last shunshin so he quickly searched for a chakra pill and popped one in his mouth. As he felt some extra chakra returning, he activated his Sharingan and pulled out the limited knowledge he had of iryo ninjutsu he copied from Sakura. It wasn't much, but it was keeping his friend from dying and that was all that mattered. He almost sighed in relief when Hinata woke up next. The Hyuuga had more knowledge of iryo ninjutsu out of everyone in the group. He handed her a chakra pill which she quickly swallowed and crawled over to help.

The two had gotten to know each other ever since she was responsible for watching and accompanying him during his probation. It was a strange relationship and no one would've thought that the two would've trusted and become something like friends with each other. She was originally chosen for her ability to seal tenketsu quickly which would've been helpful if he ever got out of control and for the fact that she had been one of the few girls not to fan girl over him. She had to seal his tenketsu a few times, but the number slowly decreased over time, something many people raised an eyebrow at.

Sasuke handed the other two the rest of his pills as they woke up to help. With Sakura as the head of the hospital, she had accomplished her shishou's ambition of every team containing a medic and also had every shinobi know basic healing jutsus and first aid techniques. Manami stopped and started fumbling in her pouch as she got out a few slips of paper. She bit her thumb using her own blood as ink, and quickly started creating a regeneration seal, a life stasis seal, and security seals consisting of protections, chakra absorbers, defense, barriers, and chakra suppression to hide any signs of her precious friend and Hokage. With a nod, the four quickly combined their jutsus to create a place for their Hokage to rest and heal up.

Hinata continued healing Naruto while Shikamaru planned out the position of the room as Sasuke once again, used his Sharingan for an earth jutsu to create the underground room. Manami placed her seals around the room, hidden in the earth and around the location. The underground room had a floor covered in flowers, thanks to Hinata who had watered and quickly grown seeds Shikamaru kept as a memento of Ino. Naruto was placed down on some of them, using them as a bed. Manami could feel that her chakra was dangerously low, but she ignored it and drew a preservative seal so that the flowers wouldn't die. Although it was dangerous keeping so many seals close together, she wanted the best for Naruto who was now in a coma.

They knew that Naruto wouldn't survive if they were to travel to the nearest village and they didn't dare risk his life, so hiding him away and letting him heal as he regained his chakra was the best choice. Within twenty minutes, they had finished and were using the last of their energy to set up a small camp to rest and heal up. By nightfall, they had fallen asleep from both the stress and the lack of both energy and chakra.

Her scream rang out as blood poured from the wound inflicted on her. Tears were running down both of their faces as he watched the one he promised to protect slowly die and meet his unborn child. When he was free, he ran to his beloved blonde and gently lifted her up. He couldn't even see her golden hair with all of her blood splattered on it.

"No, come on, stay with me," he whispered desperately. In response, her hand slowly cradled his cheek and a small, sad smile appeared on her lips.

"You're really a crybaby aren't you, Shika?"

Shikamaru woke up, gasping in the middle of night and after almost having a panic attack, cradled his head in his arms as he fought away tears. After taking a few breaths, he looked up at the night sky and spotted the moon. He looked at his wedding ring as he thought of his wife who loved the night. She had told him it was because that was the only time that they could relax and just talk about their day. To be honest, it was almost better than cloud watching as long as she was there.

_I really am a mess without you, aren't I? It's troublesome, but I miss you...If only I had been stronger then I could've saved both you and her..._He fumbled through his pocket, brushing the cold band of his wife's wedding ring and he wished he still had his cigarettes. He had used them all when Konoha was destroyed. He sighed and forced himself to fall back asleep as he tried to forget his nightmare. It was the same one where he saw his beloved blonde tortured in front of him and was unable to do anything but gently hold her and hear her tease him with her last breaths along with her last words, filling him with a torturous dance of love and pain.

Sakura petals drifted from the trees and filled the air with their sweet scents. Conversations and laughter were heard from the courtyard. It was a stressful time with the strange destruction of Konoha's allies, but this was a happy occasion and they wanted to forget about it for just one day. Today, two of Konoha's strongest shinobi were getting married and half of Konoha's population had gathered at the shrine. The Konoha 13 were all gathered along with Team Gai except for Neji who had passed away in the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

The guests rushed to settle down and waited as the groom appeared, followed shortly by the blushing bride. The groom wore the traditional black kimono and his signature mask. The bride herself, wore a white kimono with a matching hood inscribed with silver symbols for happiness and fertility. Her brown hair was up in a bun with strands framing her elated face.

As they sat from across each other, Kakashi smiled at his future wife and Manami shyly smiled back. She was filled with excitement and nervousness as Naruto, wearing his kage robes, spoke and blessed the two as the Hokage with an air of nervousness at not wanting to mess up and excitement for his friend. They had been dating for three years, but knew each other for about eight years. Even though they were teacher and student, it wasn't a rare thing for marriage to occur between the two.

As the sake cups were passed, Manami admired the intricate patterns on the cups and listened as Kakashi spoke his vows. A soft smile and happy blush rose up as she listened as he spoke out and conveyed his feelings while looking into her emerald colored eyes. It was straightforward and blunt, but it was still passionate and loving. He reached down to his sake cup and lifted it to his lips. As he lifted it to his lips, everyone but the bride leaned forward, eager to see what was under that mask. Manami smiled and her eyes twinkled in amusement. Kakashi's own mis-matched eyes were showing amusement as the cup came closer to his face.

Suddenly, he jumped forward and pulled her into an embrace.

Manami paused in confusion as his familiar arms wrapped around her. _Huh? This wasn't in the rehearsal._ When she felt the splatter of blood her mind and body froze as she felt the silver haired ninja's arms wrap around her. Cold tendrils of instant comprehension squeezed her heart and her mind came to a halt as she struggled to accept the situation.

"K-Kashi?" she whispered as she heard his labored breathing. She could feel Sakura and all of the medic nins attending rushing, and she felt a small amount of hope squirming its way into her heart.

She looked over and tears were slowly starting to fall as she realized that they couldn't reach them fast enough. The silver haired nin coughed out blood as he struggled trying to speak his last words.

"I...I'm sorry Manami-koi...I guess I won't be able to...to spend more time reading Icha Icha to you...like I promised..." he paused and wiped away tears running down her face and smiled softly. "Hey now, I...I want to see your smile...one...last...time..." Manami suppressed her sobs and for five painfully long seconds, she smiled as tears kept running down her face.

"Hehe, that's it, koi."

Five.

"Keep smiling."

Four.

"I will always be by your side."

Three.

"Don't forget," he leaned towards Manami, pressing his lips to hers and whispering, "I love you."

Two.

"I love you too, Kakashi-koi! Please don't go!"

One.

He smiled his famous eye-smile and before he could reply, his body went limp. She gave up holding in her sobs and let out a wail as she clung to his limp and slowly cooling body.

"No," she chanted over and over as she continued denying what happened. "No! Please, please come back Kakashi-koi! Please come back..." Without him next to her, it seemed so lonely. It was so cold and lonely...

_Why?! Why didn't I see it? It's my fault he's dead...if only I had been paying attention! ...Why did he have to die and leave me alone?_

"Oi! Wake up Manami!" Her eyes shot open and met her old teammate's black eyes. Manami woke up from her nightmare and she clung on to a familiar shirt. Tears were still falling from her face and when she noticed Sasuke's ripped and dirty shirt, she let go.

"S-sorry, I'll-"

"If you want to cry, you can go ahead...It's not good to hold in your feelings and let it build up..." Sasuke calmly replied as he remembered what Hinata had told him when he had nightmares. He patted his old teammate's head awkwardly as her shoulders shook and let out small sobs and sniffs. He wasn't very sure what she dreamed about, but he had a feeling it was most likely her wedding ceremony with Kakashi.

He was attending with Hinata and had rushed to find the assassin with Naruto right next to him. Naruto was livid and his eyes were red that day. Sasuke was pretty sure his Mangekyo was activated with Amaterasu and Susanoo ready at the go. Had Sakura not been rushing to heal, he was pretty sure she would've also hunted the assassin down. The rest of the Konoha 13 were either following them, ready for action, or rushing to heal and calm people down. He felt slightly better when he remembered his chance at "interrogating" the assassin.

Ibiki had passed away, leaving Anko and Ino in charge of T&I. He had seen what the first two had done and even he still winced at it. It was no wonder why Anko had enjoyed it, but Ino was somewhat surprising. Over the years, she had built a reputation of being the mistress of poisons, using her large knowledge of plants and their properties against her enemy. Her combination of mind techniques and poisons were known throughout the Shinobi Nations. However, she had always complained to anyone who listened that her skills were keeping away any potential suitors. _Until she finally noticed Chouji, _Sasuke thought with an eye roll. _She was almost as oblivious as the dobe._ It was Shikamaru who had pushed his best man to confess.

Out of all the people here, it was Shikamaru and himself who could relate the most to Manami. Shikamaru had seen his wife tortured and was unable to do anything but try and comfort her in her last moments. He had experienced the Uchiha Massacre where everyone in his clan was killed by both Obito and Itachi.

Thankfully, Hinata had only seen her cousin die and while the rest of the Hyuuga clan did die, she was not there to witness it. He didn't want her to experience the massive grief they had experienced. She was just too…too innocent to deserve such grief. Hinata had always been that one person that always made him come back to Konoha, something that Naruto had trouble doing. He didn't know why he kept going back to the gentle kunoichi. He shook his head at the thought of Hinata... _I need to sleep, all that fighting left little time for sleeping. I'll think about what to do in the morning, _he decided as he set his now sleeping teammate down against the tree trunk.

He returned to his spot on top of a tree branch where he would have the perfect overview of everyone's sleeping positions. Earlier, he had watched the lazy genius wake up panting and considered going down, but stopped when the shadow user fell back to sleep. For now, he was waiting and hoping that no one else would wake up. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was a lot to comprehend about what was happening.

_Somehow, Naruto was able to either turn back time, take us to a different dimension, or he just teleported us back to the past. But then where? At what time period?_ There were too many questions and unknown variables for him to try and answer. He sighed as he looked over to where the blond Hokage was resting. _Leave it to Konoha's Most Unpredictable Ninja-turned-Hokage to put us in the past without even giving us any useful information,_ he thought as he scoffed with a small smile.

Although he was the one who was the best condition wise, he was still too weak to travel far and scout out the area. Manami had been pushing herself to her limits by the time she returned from placing the seals and Shikamaru wasn't known for his chakra reserves. Hinata had also worn herself out from continuously healing Naruto and trying to keep him in a stable condition. Which of course led to another question, if they were in their own time line, did that mean that were there mini versions of them, or were they now taking the place of their younger self? The raven haired man frowned, for now, he would rest. Tomorrow would be the day when he answered his questions.

As morning approached, Hinata slowly opened her eyes and winced as she stood up. She looked down at her injuries and worriedly thought of everyone else's. She closed her eyes and confident with the amount she had, quickly started healing herself. She knew it wasn't good to rush, but if she was right, then they were truly in the. She activated her Byakugan and could feel herself coming closer to panicking as she saw the familiar sights she had grew up seeing. The entire village was in a state of panic itself.

Overnight, three heirs of shinobi clans had gone missing along with the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and the Hokage's grand-niece. Hinata was sure it was the five who traveled to the past and she was overwhelmed seeing her entire clan and Neji alive. The Sandaime was still alive and the village was still standing, blissfully ignorant of the future held in store.

She looked over at Shikamaru who had just woken up and went over to heal him. Her injuries weren't as bad and she had decided to leave some untreated.

"You have information?" the shadow user asked his friend. She had left some smaller injuries untreated and was doing the same for him, wanting to conserve as much chakra as possible.

The future head nodded, "I've used my Byakugan and it's true, we're really back in the past. I believe Naruto-kun brought us back to our Academy days and we're seventeen miles away from the village itself."

Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed as he started forming a plan with Hinata's information. He closed his eyes and got into his thinking pose as plans were quickly generated and ignored. He opened his eyes once he was sure of his plans. Hinata was now treating Manami who was wearing a smile of gratitude. Sasuke walked over and leaned against the tree trunk next to him.

"Got a plan?" the Sharingan user asked, watching a mother bird feed her newborn children. He almost did a double at seeing any kind of wildlife. Any animal had escaped and disappeared within an hour of the fall.

Shikamaru glanced up, "Yeah. I take it you overheard what Hinata-sama told us?" Sasuke's lips twitched amusingly as he nodded. "Alright then. Let's wait for the two to be done; it's too troublesome to explain something twice."

Four future shinobi sat across from each other as they listened to the future Hokage's adviser.

"Alright, earlier Hinata-sama used her Byakugan to look around us and found that we're about seventeen miles from Konoha. We've also taken the place of our past selves too since we're "missing". We're going to pretend that we've been kidnapped but we didn't see our kidnapper."

He looked over at his comrades and nodded briefly before he started with his instructions. "Manami, I need you to create seals to help us stay in a genjutsu/henge. It's best if we look the same from this time. Have Sasuke help you since he's the main genjutsu user here." Both nodded and waited for him to continue. "For now, we'll need to create a Bunshin to act as Naruto. Reinforce the Bunshin with seals to make sure that it doesn't dispel when it's hit or when we're asleep. Whoever has the most chakra should try and create a Kage Bunshin for this." Hinata nodded, that would be her job in this. Shikamaru sighed, "I guess we'll just have to try and fix whatever we can as ordered. It'll be our job to try and prepare Konoha for the future."

"Will we be telling anyone that we're from the future?" Manami asked as she thought about telling her great-uncle.

Shikamaru nodded, "Troublesome, but yeah, it's probably best to tell the Sandaime about this."

"Hn, we can show him our true selves and Naruto if he wants proof." The nineteen year olds nodded as they stood up and prepared for their set tasks. In one hour, instead of four grown-ups, there were now five children. They looked over at Naruto's resting place before they set off to Konoha at a slow, child-like pace. Passing through the forest, they continued working on their plans.

"So what are we going to do about...them?" Manami asked as they all thought of those that they lost, but were now alive. Her heart sung with hope at seeing Kakashi and wept in grief at the same time.

"It's probably best if we try to just get used to their...presence again," Hinata answered softly as her own thoughts drifted off, filled with her now living family. "We'll need to try and act normally around them so that they don't suspect anything."

"For now, we'll have to try and deal with our loss and if we can't, someone will have to step in to help," Shikamaru added. "By the way, we'll need a meeting spot," he continued with an afterthought.

Sasuke nodded, no one would be suspicious if five people who were kidnapped were hanging out together. "I don't care where it is," he added his opinion with a shrug.

Hinata pushed away a low hanging branch before she answered, "How about Ichiraku Ramen then? I think that was the only place that accepted Naruto-kun during this time." After a few moments of thinking silence, each nodded and agreed.

"It'd be nice to eat Teuchi-san's ramen again," Manami added with a smile. The group smiled as they started reminiscing. Sasuke stopped and face palmed as he remembered something he hadn't been worrying about for years, fan girls.

"Damn, I'm going to have to deal with fan girls again," he continued and swore underneath his breath, "Both Ino and Sakura are or were married too. Kuso, I bet Chouji and Lee is going to be pissed if they learn about this." Hinata giggled at his distress. Chouji and Lee had worked hard to win their wife's affections. Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he looked over but felt his lips twitch at her giggles.

"Gomen Sasuke-san," she replied but still continued smiling in amusement. Sasuke opened his mouth but was cut off by Shikamaru, "Oi, let's wait and get to Konoha before you two get lovey-dovey."

Manami smiled somewhat sadly, "You two are in your little world huh?" She smirked, "Just be careful with the sexual tension that appears later on." That led to a blushing Hinata and a sputtering Sasuke.

"I think he rubbed off on you, Manami," Sasuke replied with a weak glare. Manami shrugged and smiled again as she thought of Kakashi. There was pain and sadness that she'd have to work on their relationship again, and as much as that hurt, she also wanted to see him and his Icha Icha books again. However, she was slightly scared of meeting her fiancé again. She looked over at Shikamaru who was also having similar thoughts about his wife no doubt.

Shikamaru was indeed, thinking about his wife. _Temari..._It had been one of the most painful moments in his life, even more painful than Asuma's death or his father's death since he had some sort of closure. With Temari however, there was no time. Their unborn daughter had been killed already and Temari had bled to death in his arms. The shadow user unconsciously looked down at his arms. They still felt warm and slick with her blood.

He looked up to the sky. It was covered with branches from the trees, but there were spots of the blue sky. A sigh left his lips as he remembered when he would see the Sand princess. It would be two more years plus another three years until they got together. Sure it wouldn't be the Temari he had loved, but he still wanted to her alive and without blood covering her. He wasn't an optimist, but he wasn't a pessimist either, he was just a realist. The possibility of her falling in love with him again was small, but it was still there, and that was enough for the Nara. He was going to have to tell the Temari from this time though, and that was going to be troublesome.

_Damn, I really need a smoke. _

As they approached the gate, they were all limping and leaning in each other for support. Of course the Naruto Bunshin was just acting, but the others weren't as much. Hinata only healed enough so that they'd survive and looked like they had escaped with each other's help. A chuunin saw them limping and quickly called for help. Two clan heads and the Hokage showed up with a medic team.

Thankfully, none of the shinobi noticed their genjutsu and they sighed in relief as they were brought to a hospital. The Naruto Bunshin however, went home instead and claimed that all he needed was a few nights of sleep. The four were all brought to the same room after seeing that there wasn't anything life-threatening. The Hokage and Shikaku stood and waited for an explanation of what happened. Shikamaru was the first to speak.

"I can't really remember what happened, but I remember waking up, gagged and tied," he told them without looking at either adult straight in the eye. He didn't want to see a dead Hokage who was like a grandfather or his father who had died before seeing his wedding. He may have been a shinobi who had been through two wars, but the sight of his lazy father was like opening old scars.

It wasn't a lie since he was captured once. The others caught unto what he was doing and replied with true words, never speaking an outright lie.

"I can't remember the face but we all were only able to escape because of the dobe," Sasuke added.

The Hokage and Jounin Commander widened their eyes in shock before looking at each other with curiosity. "What did Naruto-kun do?" Sarutobi asked as he sat down on a chair.

Manami smiled, "He was able to distract them and started to convince one of them into letting us go, Sarutobi-jiji. After we escaped, we ran to Konoha."

"How did you find the village?" Shikaku asked with suspicion.

Hinata finally spoke up with a blush, "I-I u-used m-my B-Byakugan." Her blush deepened when the adults attention were on her.

The Hokage nodded, not entirely believing their story, but feeling that there was some truth behind the children's words. "How are you all feeling now?"

"Tired," Shikamaru mumbled. Sarutobi nodded and stood up, motioning Shikaku to follow him. Within a few minutes, the four were knocked out. The hospital wasn't their favorite place, but they weren't going to complain. It had been months since they had a mattress to sleep on and their bodies were worn out and tired. They would sleep and rest up before they told the Sandaime the truth.

xXx

One red eye slowly opened and looked around, slightly confused. Where were the flames of hell and the screams of eternal pain?

_Did I actually go to heaven?_ It wondered, but brushed off the thought. _Nah, that's not possible. The only one that would go and meet the gods would be him. _

It looked around at its surroundings and it felt something inside of him he hadn't felt in a long time, hope.

Kurama knew this sewer-like place.

He was still with the kit.

Somehow, he had survived the jutsu and was able to remain awake. He closed his eyes in concentration and they quickly opened as he swore loudly. The kit's vitals were stable but his chakra was low. He continued swearing as he noticed that his chakra levels were dangerously low too. The fox demon concentrated on his host's surroundings. _Seals?_ A smirk appeared. It seemed like all he had to do was just rest and wait for his host to return to consciousness.

"Guess I'll be seeing you sooner than Wave, Naruto."

Hello again!

So...anyone shocked? Hehe, I think I'm starting to understand why they put their characters in pain ^_^.

Yes the pairings are probably really strange and badly written (so much OOCness). I still need to work on my SasuHina and my ShikaTema pairings but I think I'm doing an okay job with my OC and Kakashi. As for Naruto, I will have him end up with someone but you probably won't find out for a bit. Was anyone thinking Shika was going to end up with Ino? Hehe, sorry if you wanted him to but I've always preferred ShikaTema instead of ShikaIno.

Oh! I would also like to thank Kenna Cat for favoriting and the following people for following: 10th Squad 3rd Seat, 13bluetears, Ayrmed, Fotsvamp, Naru-fan3400, WRose, spagtag, and lastly, xoverfan4ever! I'm very happy and honored that you guys (and ladies) decided to give this story a chance! *bows*

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Hope to see ya in the next one!


	3. Chapter 2

Sarutobi sighed as he relit his pipe. He was currently finishing up on one stack of paperwork before he left to visit the five children who suddenly disappeared. His old heart had almost stopped when he heard that not just three heirs were missing, but his grand-niece and Minato's son were missing too!

_I'm getting too old for this job. I need to find another successor, _he thought solemnly and looked out at the Hokage monument.

He strolled down the hospital hallways in a relaxed mood. He had just visited Naruto and he was glad that the boy was still happy and upbeat. As he entered the hospital room, he was greeted with the sight of the four siting on chairs with serious looks. An old eyebrow rose as he sat on the empty chair they had left for him. Before he could speak, Sasuke interrupted him, "We need to speak to you privately, Hokage-sama. Please send your ANBU away, we have already prepared silencing seals."

Sarutobi was suspicious, but a gut feeling told him to hear them out. He nodded and waved his hand, signaling the hidden guards to leave.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru replied before nodding to Manami who nodded back and put up her silencing seals. "We are here to tell you something you'll probably not believe us."

Hinata raised her chin and met the old Hokage in eye contact with no blushes. "To put it in simple terms, we aren't from this time period. We are actually from the future, about nine years to be exact." They paused as Sarutobi stared stroking his goatee thoughtfully.

"And why should I believe this?" he asked without any anger, just curiousoty.

"We can prove it, Sarutobi-jiji." The four nodded and at the same time, released their henges. The old Hokage's eyes widened as he saw four grown adults in the spots where children were. "We were sent here by our Hokage, the Rokudaime to be exact, to prevent our future from occurring."

"Konoha was destroyed in the future. No one was left alive but the four of us and our Hokage," Sasuke answered the dreaded the question forming on Sarutobi's tongue. A long silence was passed before Sarutobi asked them about their Hokage.

Sasuke smirked, "He's with us, the stubborn idiot was going to sacrifice himself to bring us here, but we brought him with us." The answer brought a smile onto each other the nineteen year olds. Sarutobi wondered about the identity of the future Hokages, especially the Rokudaime who obviously had their affection and respect.

"The Godaime was your student, Tsunade-sama," Hinata explained with a small smile. _Oh the irony_, Sarutobi thought with a small smile. Tsunade had swore that she would never come back to Konoha, but she had actually become Konoha's Hokage.

"I take it that I must've died then?" he chuckled at their expressions of shock. He wasn't called The Professer for nothing. "I doubt she would've returned if I was still alive, saying that I could always find someone else who wanted the "cursed" job. Although, who was it that convinced her?" Smiles met his question.

"That was the Rokudaime," Shikamaru answered. "If you want it need evidence, we can bring you to where he is."

Sarutobi rose an eyebrow, "You didn't bring him to Konoha?"

Manami shook her head solemnly, "No, we didn't want to put him danger. He was to weak to travel with the injuries he had." Sarutobi nodded and decided to meet the future Hokage. It was mind-blowing, but it made sense nonetheless. He created and henged a few Kage Bunshin. Manami smiled as everyone latched onto her and quickly teleported them to Naruto's spot.

At the clearing, Sarutobi was silently observing where it was. He was surprised that his grand-niece used fuuinjutsu, but he supposed it was probably because of her grandfather who was an Uzumaki. The chocolate haired woman walked over and started hand sealing again. A large rumble shook the ground as stairs were created. The Sandaime walked down them, following the four. It was a large room with dirt walls and the floor was covered in flowers that seemed to be stuck in full bloom. He stopped and stood in shock when he saw the four surround another person who was lying on the flowers. The man was wearing Hokage robes similar to his and had his fingers crossed over his stomach. It looked like the young man was only sleeping, but as he walked closer, he saw the looks of pain on each of the others faces. He saw blond hair and whiskered cheeks and felt pride swelling up in his chest. There was only one person who had those two traits. A young boy who loved playing pranks on people and yelled out about his dream of becoming a Hokage.

"Naruto-kun?" He asked, gently looking at the man asleep.

Manami took a step forward, "He can't answer you, Sarutobi-jiji...He's in a coma right now and the only thing that is allowing for his survival are the seals around us. He...he used all of his chakra to send us back here."

Shikamaru leaned against the dirt wall and nodded as he looked at both Hokages. "I think it's best if we leave him here. No one can get pass these seals unless Manami let's them. For now, we should return back to the hospital, we'll explain to you what happened in the future there." Sarutobi slowly nodded as he walked out of the underground room with seals and held onto Manami.

"Hmm, so I guess things turned out for the best huh?" Manami said aloud as she laid on the hospital bed. They weren't going to be released until the next day so they all relaxed.

"It was troublesome having to tell the Sandaime everything, but at least he believed us."

"So what are we going to do?" Sasuke asked as he crossed his arms, "What are we going to change?"

"Well, I guess we'll start with the largest events first," Hinata replied. "First of all is the Fourth War and the Destruction of the Shinobi Nations." No one had been able to find out any information about who was behind the attacks so they just called it the Destruction of the Shinobi Nations. "And, well, I'd like to save Neji-nii-san from dying too," she added as she thought of her protective cousin. She was so sure that something had been happening with him and TenTen too.

"I think we should try and fix Gaara's seal so that he's more stable and if we befriend him earlier, he'll probably turn out like his future self faster. Another thing we should try doing is try to get the villagers to accept Naruto faster instead of having him risk his life so many times in order to prove it to them," Manami added. "I'd...I'd also like to save Kakashi if I can."

"There's a lot of people we'd like to save so we'll have to try and prepare our generation better. It's easier since we all have someone on each team. It's troublesome but Sakura and Ino will need to get over Sasuke and as for everyone else, they'll have to get stronger faster. We'll have to keep on using a Kage Bunshin to act as Naruto for now until he wakes up though. As for me, I'd like to save Temari, Asuma, and his family," Shikamaru finished softly as he looked at his wedding ring. He would have to wear it on a necklace now, but he would still keep it nearby.

Sasuke nodded and agreed. "I suppose I'd like to bring Itachi back to Konoha and make him the hero he really was." It was simple, but there wasn't much else that he wanted to change. He could easily deal with Orochimaru. Akatsuki was slightly tougher but since Sasuke was pretty much on Kage level, it shouldn't be too hard. _Then again, pretty much everyone in this room is either S or Kage level, _he thought. For them, it was survival of the fittest and they had to become stronger. That meant they had to surpass their original rank of S, and go to Kage level.

It was then that they realized something, they had to go back to the Academy again. Four collective sighs were heard as they remembered their school days...It was filled with fangirls, harsh words, loud classmates, and boredom.

_Kuso..._

Oh wow! 7 reviews for 2 chapters?! What kind of sorcery is this?! Good kind obviously...(Please continue with all of your magic!)

Anyway, enough with my dramatic tendencies, I would like to thank you all for following, favoriting, and reviewing! Reviews are so amazing and make my day!

Onto answering some reviews!

**Kenna Cat:** Haha, actually, NaruHina is my OTP, and SasuHina used to be my sister's old OTP before I converted her into NaruHina XD I still read some but not as much as NaruHina. Thank you for being patient and waiting for the next chapter! *bows*

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **His death was pretty hard on me too. It was just like Neji's or Asuma's death. I had to reread the chapter because I didn't believe he was dead at first and when I realized, I kind of teared up.

**EveJHoang: **Haha, did you know that I actually made this story so that a Hokage!Naruto could end up with either Kakashi or Itachi XD Obviously, Kakashi's out so that would leave Itachi as the guy. Problem is, I've already planned on putting someone else with Naruto. If you want, you can go on ahead and suggest a guy for Naruto. As a fellow yaoi lover, I'm open to any suggestions.

Alright! I would like to thank you all again for reading and reviewing! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter!

See ya in the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 3

Boredom, that was what the four felt when they went back to the academy.

Of course Sasuke had to deal with his fangirls, but otherwise, there wasn't much for them do. They had decided to not change anything from their Academy days other than trying to get their future teammates motivated. Sasuke had the easier job since all he had to do was just say aloud that he liked girls who were strong enough to take care of themself. Hinata had started to befriend Shino and Kiba which was slightly easier. Manami had tried to befriend Sakura and make her into the medic-nin that surpassed Tsunade faster. She was succeeding little by little.

As for the lazy genius, well he couldn't really do much other than help Chouji become more assertive. He didn't really talk to Ino yet and she had no interest in talking to him. They only really talked when their fathers met up at one of their houses.

Their schedule usually was going to the Academy, continue helping their classmates, meet up at Ichiraku Ramen, and then some private training. The three that lived with their families were slightly in shock, but they were slowly starting to accept the fact that they were alive. Since Sasuke lived by himself, he wasn't bothered much. He usually spent time going through his clan's records or talking with the other nineteen year olds.

Manami lived with Konohamaru and Sarutobi at the Sarutobi mansion. She tightly hugged the younger boy she thought of as a younger brother and later on, repeated the action to her grand-uncle. She had lost him during the fight with Orochimaru, something he was devastated to learn and had lost Konohamaru when he went on a mission with Moegi and Udon and never returned. Kakashi had comforted her then. As she thought about him, she always felt a crushing pain. To love someone with every fiber of your being and not having them know, it was extremely painful. She had been avoiding the silver haired nin by avoiding wherever his chakra signature was. It wasn't hard though, she knew his chakra signature just as well as she knew seals. It was like a second nature to her.

Hinata had desperately wanted to cry and hug Neji and Hanabi, but held in the urge when she was brutally reminded of their attitudes. Neji was cold and always taunting her while Hanabi was distant and uncaring. They weren't the kind and protective older brother like cousin who died for her, or the sweet and outgoing sister who always supported her. Her father was still strict and harsh on her instead of accepting her with pride. She had to maintain the image of weakness and passiveness in front of them. She could easily see open parts in their gentle fist, but had to overlook and ignore them as frustrating as it was. The only relief she had was during the A-rank spars after class. They had limited themselves to A-rank techniques only, otherwise, it was a free-for-all, all-out-spar.

Shikamaru had to be careful around his family. Although Naras were lazy, they had high IQs and were observant. When it was dinner time, he had to make sure that he would eat only a little and "begrudgely" finish whatever he had on his plate when his mother nagged him. In all honesty, he would've gladly finished his mother's homemade cooking. He could cook, but there was something about her's and Temari's cooking that tasted better than his.

When his mother had noticed the rings he wore on a necklace, he had to tell her that he liked them and bought them on a whim. The rings were actually both his and Temari's wedding rings. He never wore her ring or showed it off, it was for her hand only. Of course his mother then came to the conclusion that he was in love with someone and quickly told anyone who would listen, including his father. Then, his mother had decided that it was time to give him the "Talk" so the lazy genius had to deal with embarrassing stories about sexual intercourse and a father that interrogated him whenever he could. All in all, the past two years were simply put, troublesome.

The day that they had waited for team assignments, however, was one that they were looking forward to. The Sandaime had promised that he'd speak with Iruka about team assignments to make sure that none of them changed. Throughout the Academy days, the four had taken turns of creating a Naruto Bunshin since the original had yet to wake up. It worried them that for over two years he was still asleep, but they had renovated the underground room to make it more comfortable.

The walls were no longer dirt, they were now smooth stone walls with the simple design of Konoha's symbol. Naruto was laid on a bed they had bought together. The bed wasn't very special, but it was soft and comfortable with orange bedding. They added extra plants and with Sasuke's suggestion, added a koi fish pond and lit the place up with special light crystals from Iwa. They had a laugh when Manami commented how the blonde Hokage would probably believe he was actually dead with how the place looked. It truly looked like heaven.

Manami sat next to Hinata as they waited for Iruka to show up. This time, Sasuke was in charge of the Naruto Bunshin simply because he had no wish to experience "that" with him again, Bunshin or not.

Sakura entered and waved politely to Manami before greeting Sasuke and moving up to sit next to her and Hinata. Luckily, Manami's effort of de-fangirling the girl had worked. Sakura still paid attention to Sasuke, but now she was more focused on iryo ninjutsu, much to the time-travelers' pleasure. She had cut her hair to shoulder length and wore a medic nin skirt over black shorts and had her signature red shirt on. The present Sakura was almost exactly the same woman they had fought back-to-back with and healed their wounds.

Ino entered next and ran up to Sasuke, greeting him and yelling at Naruto for sitting next Sasuke. Suddenly, she stopped, sighed, and apologized to Naruto before sitting down next to him, much to everyone's confusion. Three pairs of eyes looked over to Shikamaru who was conveniently sleeping.

Shikamaru had confronted Ino a few weeks ago when their fathers met up. He spoke to her and pointed out Sasuke's flaws-which she countered-and then some of Naruto's good points-which she also countered. He wasn't too worried pointing out Sasuke's faults since he knew that although Sasuke could be arrogant at times, he was also very straightforward and knew himself.

The Nara heir knew she was very kind and compassionate when needed so he used it against her. He told her about Naruto's background, how he was always lonely, how adults treated him, how he was always bullied, and how he still smiled in the end.

When she had asked him why he was telling her this, he quietly replied, "He's a troublesome blond, but he's my friend and I'll always be there for him. He's a natural born leader. He has all of the needed qualities, Ino. Don't you notice how he makes people smile and laugh? How he tries over and over? How he can understand people and make them better? If you can't, I think you should give it a try and see the true him, Ino." It wasn't supposed to be anything more than trying to get her to see and accept her future leader faster.

Iruka entered and listed off teams and the room was quickly filled with excitement once it was lunch time. True to Sarutobi's word, the teams were still the same and that was perfect for the time travelers. As they left the classroom, they shared a brief look. They would meet up tomorrow after the teams are tested.

Manami was anxious, she was about to see the man she had been dreaming of for years. The man she had loved and had died for her.

Sasuke saw his teammate and was unsure of what might happen. She was capable of holding back her emotions when needed, but could she hold them back when she saw him? His Naruto Bunshin had started setting up the prank he remembered the real Naruto doing but added in his own extra part to it, chili powder.

He crossed his hands over his mouth to hide the sadistic smirk that was threatening to show. It was his "good to see you again" present and it was also a good cover if Manami started crying since she could blame it on the powder. He felt the man's chakra signature and heard his footsteps in the hall. He mentally chuckled, Kakashi had no idea that they were from the future and he was going to enjoy the look on the copy nin's face when the entire team surprised him.

The sliding door started to slowly open and a mop of silver hair entered the classroom. The eraser fell from its place and before anyone could see the jonin's reaction, chili powder bombs exploded, causing all of them but Sasuke and the Naruto Bunshin to sneeze, cough, or cry. Two minutes after the bomb, the room cleared of chili and was met with a sneezing jonin, a coughing Sakura, and a crying Manami. However, Manami wasn't crying from the chili powder just like Sasuke predicted.

After everything, it was still shocking to see her dead lover alive again. After she stopped her tears, she laughed as she looked over to a smirking Sasuke. The chocolate-haired time traveler bit her lower lip, a bad habit she had developed, as she heard his voice and his first impression of them. It hurt to look at him and not see warm affections in his eyes. She had worked so hard to win his trust, his love, and now she had to start all over again.

She looked over to Sasuke and nodded slightly, thanking him. He nodded back and smirked as he shrugged. He had shrugged it off as nothing, but he was happy that he was able to comfort her and make her laugh. They sat down on the roof as Kakashi leaned against the railing, reading an orange book. _Icha Icha Paradise, _Manami thought with a small, nostalgic smile. She sat in between Sasuke and Sakura and waited for Kakashi to introduce himself.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. As for my likes and dislikes, I have no desire to tell you guys." Manami quickly filled it in mentally however. _He likes his Icha Icha books, salt-broiled saury, miso with eggplant, teamwork, his ninja dogs, and...me...well at least in the future... He dislikes sweets, fried foods, traitors, and being photographed without his mask on, _she added with a mental smile.

"My dreams for the future...hmm." _Hmm, he actually never told me..._Manami thought with a slight frown. Throughout their entire relationship, he never had mentioned anything about his future. She felt a slight pang in her heart as she suddenly thought of a reason why. _Was he just living day to day? Just trying to spend as much time as he could? Maybe...maybe that was why he was so hesitant to start a relationship with me.._.

"As for my hobbies...I have lots of hobbies..." _Like reading Icha Icha and visiting the Memorial Stone._ Kakashi pointed to Naruto first and Sasuke decided that as much as he'd love to screw around, he wanted people to start noticing and looking at Naruto in the good light so he made sure to tell the bunshin to make sure to show the blond's good side.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, my precious people, my plants, and for what I dislike... I don't like traitors and a certain mask-wearing man along with a man that should be dead..." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. He wore a mask, but he had the feeling he wasn't talking about him. "My dream is to become Hokage so that I can protect my precious people! I'd also like to end the cycle of hatred too... My hobbies are spending time with my friends, going to Ichiraku Ramen, and training," the Naruto Bunshin finished with a soft smile.

Sasuke and Manami smiled; add paperwork to what he disliked and that would be their beloved Hokage. Kakashi was no longer paying attention to his porn book anymore. What the blond had just said wasn't anything like on the reports he got. Sure the kid was energetic, but he seemed more relaxed and his confidence wasn't as forced as what he had seen.

Sakura was surprised, but smiled happily. She had seen what Manami had told her about Naruto and she was glad that she had befriended him, or at least was on civil terms with him since he had stopped asking her out.

Sakura went next. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like my friends, iryo ninjutsu, and sweets. I don't like spicy food or bullies. My hobbies are playing trivia games, memorizing medical material, and spending time with friends. A dream I have is to surpass Tsunade-sama!" she finished with determination. Kakashi nodded, it similar to what her reports said. He looked over and pointed at the Hokage's grand-niece.

Manami smiled, "I'm Sarutobi Manami. I like sweets, my precious people, seals, and I don't like a certain masked man and a man who should be dead, waking up early, and losing my loved ones... My hobbies are creating seals, and cooking. My dream...protect those I care for and fix a...personal relationship," she smiled almost cheekily as she finished. The silver-haired-nin raised an eyebrow once more. Everything was similar to her report, but her dreams... Kakashi mentally sighed. He could already feel his mind trying to fill in solutions to solve the puzzle. However, he paused when he saw the brown haired girl's green eyes lit up with amusement and sadness. He was interested, but moved on to the last Uchiha.

Sasuke wondered about how to answer and decided he was still feeling mischievous. He had enjoyed watching his ex-sensei try to figure out what his Bunshin and Manami meant.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I like tomatoes, my friends, my Hokage, and training." Sasuke almost smirked. He was of course referencing Naruto, not the Sandaime, but Kakashi didn't know that. "I dislike the same things the dobe does along with a certain man. My goal or ambition is to kill the man." Sasuke paused for dramatic effect before adding, "And his side-kick too." Of course, this led to a puzzled jounin, but Kakashi decided to think about it later.

Kakashi nodded and in a happy tone, informed the four children in front of them of their test. He almost pouted when he only got reactions from two and a mild eyebrow raise from the other two. Not even the sixty-six percent got much of a reaction from the two. _Either they're majorly confident or they're enemy spies, _the man concluded.

He didn't like the second possibility, but it was still a possibility that could be dangerous. As he disappeared in a puff of smoke and leaves, he decided that it was impossible. Manami was the grand-niece of the Hokage who had the best security. Sasuke being a spy was possible, but he still doubted the possibility of it. Any of Manami's ANBU guards would've noticed if something was wrong with the boy. The silver-haired jonin decided to keep a close eye on the two as he appeared in front of the stone memorial.

Manami smiled and waved at her teammates. _So far, so good, _she thought with a smile. She could still feel the presence of her ANBU guards and decided that it was time to lose them for a bit. It was her turn after all.

She entered the Sarutobi mansion and waved at any of the servants or members as she walked to her room. It was simple and traditional. A large smile graced her lips as she entered it. She would never get used to seeing her old bedroom again. It was stuffed full of memories, some that didn't happen yet, and others that have. She lay down on her bed and sighed as she succumbed to sleep's lullaby. A brief smirk showed up before becoming soft and gentle as darkness fell on her.

The smirk was still showing on the real Manami's face as she walked next to Naruto's bedside and undid her henge. Her smirk turned smile toned down as she sat down by his right. She was now twenty-one years old just like all the other time travelers. She inhaled in the fresh smells from the flowers and the pond. It was sweet and soothing, just like Naruto. Just like a certain one-eyed shinobi, she started relaying what happened that day out loud.

"You should've seen Kakashi's confused face he was trying to hide... Although it was plainly obvious to me and Sasuke." A strained chuckle broke through her lips as she thought of him. "I can't believe I met him again, Naruto. It was hard, seeing him and that book of his."

She felt the sting of years in her eyes that threatened to fall but ignored it. She didn't have to hold back her emotions with her close friends, especially her Hokage. So when tears sprung from her eyes and sobs escaped from her mouth, she didn't fight them. She still tried to tell him of her day in-between breaths, stubbornly not giving up.

As much as it would embarrass the four time travelers, that was usually their routine. Visit Naruto, sit on the bed or lean against a wall, report of their day and any improvements along with troubles, and then, they would let out their emotions:

Sasuke with bitterness at the villagers' attitude towards the blond or hope and sorrow as he mentioned his older brother.

Hinata with sadness and grief with her clan who had gone back to its original state of harsh and cold words.

Shikamaru with grief at seeing his teammates and mutters of "troublesome" with his clan.

Manami with tears and sobs. It was from everything, seeing those she loved so dearly, and the pain of not being next to her fiancé.

Being next to their comrade, teammate, best friend, brother, and Hokage, made them relaxed and let down their emotional shields. It was something of a ritual they unknowingly did together.

However, Naruto didn't mind.

He wanted to comfort his friends but his body was being stubborn and his chakra was still depleted. The blue-eyed blond sighed from his mindscape. He was bored and tired of being inactive, his only relief and company was Kurama. The fox demon snorted, "Nothing you can do for now Naruto. Wait until you can move to help your friends."

Naruto childishly pouted and crossed his arms. He wasn't wearing his formal Hokage robes anymore. He cursed the wretched outfit that didn't allow him to move and run in. He was currently dressed in a cloak similar to his father's, but it was white with orange flames. He still wore his black jacket that he received as a present from Ero-sennin and a pair of black pants underneath.

The Rokudaime Hokage shrugged and smiled sadly as he continued leaning against the demon's side. He had been awake for only the past year but he couldn't wake up in the real world yet since his chakra hasn't fully returned. The only reason he wasn't dead yet was because he had some of his chakra leftover and the Kyuubi had been awake to help regulate it to where it was needed. The seals Manami had set up were also helpful too. His natural healing rate was increased with the regeneration seals and he was grateful for them.

"I know but... I just feel so useless here ya know?! I mean, I shouldn't even be here! But now that I am..."

"You want to help everyone and fix what you can?" Kurama finished. Naruto sighed and nodded. He felt so frustrated and useless. It may not be his Konoha, but it was still Konoha. It was where he was born and raised. He found friends there, became stronger, and risked his life thousands of times for its safety. He had vowed to protect it with everything he could.

"I hope that my chakra returns soon, Kurama. I need to help my friends and protect Konoha."

The fox would've scoffed if he didn't care, but since he had befriended his host, he hummed thoughtfully and listened. It was the least he could do as a friend.

"I hope so too, Naruto... I hope so too..."

* * *

Hello once again! I'm still alive! I'm sorry for the long updates by the way…

I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter. Were they acting real enough? I wasn't sure how to show what they had gone through so maybe I'll include a flashback to show just how their previous lives were like.

Responses to my awesome reviewers:

Katestar98: Thank you very much! I hope you'll enjoy the interactions I've got planned for them.

lc251: You've probably figured out how old they are but I've made it so that they're currently nineteen as of now.

loretta537: Thanks for the review! Hope you'll stick around!

EveJHoang: Haha, I suppose it's somewhat rare to find another fangirl eh? Hmm, I've never actually read any of those pairings except for Genma but I don't think it really counts since it was a fem!Naruto… The pairings I'm usually familiar with are with Itachi, Kakashi, and every blue moon, with Sasuke. Haha, I'm glad you're fond of Kurama as well; he'll be showing up a lot with Naruto.

10th Squad 3rd Seat: Haha, the Academy is pretty troublesome isn't it? Thanks for reviewing every chapter as well! :'D You have no idea how happy I am to get reviews!

I would also like to thank everyone for favoriting and following! You guys are amazing! I'd give you all cookies and cake if I could!

See ya in the next chapter!


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